UPDATED: Long Beach Police arrest three men for kidnapping, murder after victim dies

LONG BEACH — Three men arrested late Friday on suspicion of kidnapping and attempted murder now face murder charges after the victim died Monday, authorities said.

The investigation began at about 11:52 p.m. Friday when officers were called to the 1200 block of 10 th Street where a bloody hammer and gun were found and where witnesses called, saying they saw a person being shoved into the trunk of a car, said Nancy Pratt, a Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman.

Based on the description given by the witnesses, officers stopped a car a few blocks away and a search found blood in the trunk, but no body. When officers returned to the area where they first spotted the car and where the assault was reported, they found the gun and bloody hammer, Pratt said.

As officers searched the area, emergency dispatchers received another call from a witness who reported hearing a gunshot in the 1000 block of St. Louis Avenue, Pratt said.

When that witness went outside, the witness found a man lying on the ground. Long Beach Fire Department paramedics rushed the 24-year-old victim to a local hospital, where he remained in grave condition Monday, Pratt said.

"Based on the serious condition of the victim, homicide detectives were notified," Pratt said.

The victim, identified as Jose Campos, died later that day, Pratt said.

The preliminary investigation found that the victim was assaulted, then dumped in the alley after he was shot.

Officers were able to link the two men detained in the traffic stop to the victim and arrested them. A third suspect found at an apartment complex near the 10 th Street crime scene was also connected to the murder and kidnapping and was arrested, Pratt said.

Homicide detectives were able to piece together what happened during the incident, though the motive remains under investigation, Pratt said.

She said it appeared that the victim met with the suspects in Riverside County earlier in the evening. After an argument, the victim was assaulted and placed in a car and brought to Long Beach.

He was attacked a second time before he was shoved into the trunk, driven a few blocks away and dumped in the alley and shot.

The three suspects, who are due in court for arraignment Tuesday, were identified as Christopher Ramirez, 20, of Mira Loma, and Jose Duenas, 19, and Antonio Portales, 21, both of Long Beach. All three men were booked for kidnapping and attempted murder, which was amended to first-degree murder late Monday, and are being held on $1 million bail each.

Detectives will take their case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office Tuesday for filing, Pratt said.

The investigation remains open, she said.

Anyone with information is urged call LBPD Homicide detectives Mark McGuire and Greg Krabbe at 565-570-7244. Anonymous tips can be sent via text or email at www.tipsoft.com.